F. Scott Fitzgerald-The Works, The Life discussion
This Side of Paradise
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This Side of Paradise
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Dec 30, 2015 06:28AM
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"Amory Blaine inherited from his mother every trait, except the stray inexpressible few, that made him worth while."I remember quite clearly how this opening line took hold of me, stayed in my brain, found such a happy home. It later morphed into the realization as to what it means to be a natural writer. And what I mean by that is not how the words flow naturally from Fitzgerald to the page, but how naturally they flow from the page to the reader.
James wrote: ""It later morphed into the realization as to what it means to be a natural writer. And what I mean by that is not how the words flow naturally from Fitzgerald to the page, but how naturally they flow from the page to the reader.."
You're right. And the fact that he recognized it in himself is, to me, equally amazing. He's very much a self-made man (like Blaine, like Gatsby). I look at his Princeton years, and he didn't come away from that enriched by what he'd received in classes -- apparently, FSF and classrooms weren't all that well acquainted. It seems to be that he honed his skills on the literary magazine and in his relationships with Wilson and Bishop (or Beale, I can't keep his name straight), and by his own reading.
TSOP is a young man's first novel, shot through with gorgeous language, a sharp eye and sharper mockery, and it's stunning to me how he grew from the omniscient narrator through to the subtle, non-judgmental narration of Nick Carraway. He's still writing about generally the same class of people, but with a greater distance, a broader kindness, than were at his disposal in TSOP. And at the same time, with a sharper eye.
I just love to watch him grow. I didn't notice it when I was a kid, but I can now, to a degree.
You're right. And the fact that he recognized it in himself is, to me, equally amazing. He's very much a self-made man (like Blaine, like Gatsby). I look at his Princeton years, and he didn't come away from that enriched by what he'd received in classes -- apparently, FSF and classrooms weren't all that well acquainted. It seems to be that he honed his skills on the literary magazine and in his relationships with Wilson and Bishop (or Beale, I can't keep his name straight), and by his own reading.
TSOP is a young man's first novel, shot through with gorgeous language, a sharp eye and sharper mockery, and it's stunning to me how he grew from the omniscient narrator through to the subtle, non-judgmental narration of Nick Carraway. He's still writing about generally the same class of people, but with a greater distance, a broader kindness, than were at his disposal in TSOP. And at the same time, with a sharper eye.
I just love to watch him grow. I didn't notice it when I was a kid, but I can now, to a degree.
